Many small to midsize businesses are struggling with this answer. In most cases, with existing and prospective customers we speak with in the Manufacturing space, their systems and processes are 10-20+ years old and their last upgrade or migration to their existing ERP system was painful and expectations weren't met.
They were left with a subpar ERP system, not aligned with their customer-driven business processes, but custom tailored to the "this is how we've always done things" processes. Over time reactionary enhancements and custom-reports would be developed. Workers would modify their daily work routines to incorporate the "systems way of doing things" in addition to "their own way of doing things."
The first thing business owners and employees that are asking themselves this question need to understand is that NO ERP Software Out-of-the-Box is going to meet all of your specific business requirements.
As identified in the Midsize Insider: Assessing Your ERP System blog post, "Assessing a legacy enterprise resource planning (ERP) system requires evaluation of business goals, assessment of IT goals and awareness of how efficiently and effectively the system addresses both."
In some cases, existing systems are more than sufficient - see Why You Shouldn’t Buy a New ERP System.
However, we continue to see that now might be the opportune time to Rip and Replace because The Days of Brute Force ERP are Over!
[icon icon="icon-quote-left" ]There are risks and costs to a program of action. But they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. [icon icon="icon-quote-right" ] - JFK
The bottom line is businesses need to start taking action and having this discussion internally or with consultants to help them identify a roadmap for their business transformation because Your Existing Business Model Won't Last!